In the Charles we have capacity for approx. 70 research scientists at all levels of their development, and we are a multi-disciplinary centre engaged in the study of skin in both health and disease states, with focus on genetics, immunology/ inflammation, wound-healing, cancer, and pigmentation science. We use innovative technologies (transcriptomics, proteomics, interactomics, metabolomics etc.) to complement state-of-the-art imaging, molecular and cellular biology approaches. Together, we aim to make meaningful advances in our understanding of how the skin, our body's largest organ, can be maintained in a healthy state and how diseases of the skin may be tackled for patient benefit.
The Charles Institute provides state of the art research facilities to support interdisciplinary research activities. Two large open-plan laboratories, each with an adjacent instrument room, provide bench space for up to seventy researchers. These laboratories are equipped with general and high-specification equipment reflecting the interests of the research groups in molecular and cell biology and polymer chemistry.
UCD Charles Institute has access to a suite of core technology platforms in the adjacent UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular & Biomedical Research. The UCD Conway core technologies programme is one of the most comprehensive and advanced analysis platforms for the life sciences and biomedical research in Ireland. Utilising advanced core technology expertise and equipment in areas such as genomics, proteomics, imaging and flow cytometry enables a wide range of data driven experimentation and underpins dermatology research activities.
Thematic Areas
We have 8 thematic areas that our research falls under.
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Projects
There are 21 active research projects in the Charles Institute of Dermatology.
Research Facilities & Technologies
We provide state of the art research facilities to support interdisciplinary research activities.
Working with Industry
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Research Groups
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Publications
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Sanofi Newman Fellowship in Dermatology
"The scalp hair follicle as a source of Collagen VII – positive wound healing cells in recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa"
Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a group of inherited and incurable skin disorders, where blistering/ erosions can occur spontaneously or after minimal physical trauma. Chronic wounds are then complicated by infections, prolonged inflammation, and in some types, skin cancer. Currently management of EB is mostly limited to control of pain and itch, minimisation of infection, and surgical management of complications, though recently the FDA approved two rather expensive therapies including birch triterpene (Filsuvez) and a topical gene therapy (Vyjuvek). There remains an urgent need to improve patients’ life opportunities.
In this project, we will focus on patients with Recessive Dystrophic EB (RDEB), whose skin splits in the upper dermis, and ask whether their skin can benefit from harnessing regenerative power of their (often) remarkably-unaffected scalp hair follicles (HF).
Patients with RDEB carry a mutated COL7A1 gene, making them unable to produce much, if any, functioning type VII collagen. This collagen helps to hold skin together when placed under even minimal strain. Skin sites that are often protected from RDEB blistering include scalp and underarm; areas with large HF with functioning type VII collagen. The rich regenerative capacity of HF makes them excellent potential repair ‘tool-kits’ in RDEB.
Our project team has expertise in HF biology and clinical care of EB patients that is unique in Ireland. We propose in this proof-of-concept project to examine if cell-based approaches based on type VII collagen-expressing HF cells could support RDEB blisters and blister-prone skin that lacks this key collagen.
Using an array of biomolecular tools, we will compare type VII collagen status in normal healthy scalp skin and HF and compare this with type VII collagen status in ethically-obtained scalp HF from RDEB patients. We will examine skin and HF tissues as well as different cell types isolated from skin and HF, for insights into how best to exploit the remaining RDEB type VII collagen-expressing cells to aid skin integrity in this vulnerable patient group.
Project investigators from the UCD Charles Institute of Dermatology in the University College Dublin School of Medicine:
Newman Fellow: Dr Joanna Stefan PhD
Supervisory Team: Prof. Desmond Tobin PhD (UCD Charles Institute) &
Dr Fiona Browne, MD (Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital Crumlin, Dublin, Ireland).
EB Biobank Link: https://wenxinwang.group/EB%20Biobank.html